Confectionary novelty and container therefor



' Jan. 12, 1965 P. H. CARTER ETAL v CONFECTIONARY NOVELTY AND CONTAINERTHEREFOR Original Filed Jan. 19, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TORS h. CA A 7/8 RAYMon/O 4 Mok A TTORNE Y P. H. CARTER ETAL 3,165,252

CONFECTIONARY NOVELTY AND CONTAINER mzagr oa Jan. 12, 1965 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Jan. 19, 1961 7 FIG FIG. .I

INVENTORS A TTORNE Y United States Patent 1 Claim. (Cl. 229-55 This is adivision of our copending application for patent, Ser. No. 83,762, filedJanuary 19, 1961.

This invention relates to confectionary products and it is moreparticularly concerned with novelty items which appeal to and areespecially attractive to children.

One of the objects of this invention is the provision of a confectionarynovelty item in which ice cream, sherbert, ices, or other frozenconfectionary material is held in a paper container and which can beremoved by a person with one hand to expose the confectionary materialfor consumption, while the other hand firmly holds a support on whichthe confectionary material is disposed.

Another object of the invention is the provision of such a confectionarynovelty item which is adapted to the disposition of a hidden surprise,such as a figurine, inside a mound of frozen confectionary material, asa toy for children.

A further object of the invention is the provision of such a noveltyitem comprising an inverted frusto-conical paper container having anopening at the bottom that seats an inverted frusto-conical base memberfor supporting the confectionary material at the bottom of the containerand a handle integral with and projection downwardly from the basemember as a handle for the item.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a device ofthe type mentioned in which a figurine is provided integral with theupper part of the base member and the handle is secured to it at arecessed point so that after the confectionary material is consumed, thestern can be broken off at a point above the bottom of the base memberthereby permitting the base member to be used as a support for thefigurine on a horizontal surface.

A still further object of this invention is the provision of a containerfor a confectionary material which permits the removal of a portion ofthe container to expose the edible contents on a supporting memberconstituting the remaining part of the container.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a supportingmemberfor removable disposition at the bottom of a frusto-conical shellto form therewith a complete container for a confectionary material.

These objects and still further objects, advantages and features of theinvention will be apparent from the following description and theaccompanying drawing of several embodiments of the invention given byway of illustration and not by way of limitation.

In the drawing: I

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view generally through the center of apreferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view along the line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view along the line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 1 of a modified embodiment of theinvention, partly broken away.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view along the line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

Patented Jan." 12, 1965 FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view along the line77 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 5 of a third embodiment of theinvention.

FIGS. 9, 10, 11, and 12 are views corresponding to FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4,respectively, of a modification of the first embodiment.

Referring with more particularity to the drawing in which like numeralsdesignate like parts, the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 4 comprises aninverted frusto-conical paper shell 11 open at the top and bottom. Thetop is adapted to beclosed by a circular lid 12 after the contents 13are inserted, such as ice cream, sherbet, milk ice, water ice, or othertypes of frozen confectionary materials or combinations thereof.

The bottom of the paper shell is closed by a removable invertedfrusto-conical plug 14 which forms the bottom wall or base of thecontainer and upon which the confectionary material 13 is deposited.

The plug 14 comprises an upper disc 15 and a lower disc 16 connected toeach other by a group of vertical fins 17, preferably in the form ofcrossed members, as shown. A portion of the lower disc 16, such as thediametrical portion 18, is upwardly recessed and a handle 19 isintegrally formed with the plug at the recess. The upper end of thehandle 19 adjacent the portion 18 is of reduced cross-section to form aneck 20 as a weakened break-off point for the purpose of fracturing andseparating the handle from the plug at a point above the bottom of thedisc 16.

Integral with the upper disc 15 is a figurine 21 which projects upwardlytherefrom and is encased in the confectionary material 13. This figurinemay be a surprise toy for children, but functionally serves as aretainer for preventing the lateral slippage of the confectionarymaterial on the disc 15. After the confectionary material is consumed,the handle 19 is broken off, as explained above, thereby resulting in atoy that can be supported on a horizontal surface. Also, any sharp orrough edges occasioned by the fracture is concealed within the recess,thereby serving to protect a child playing with the toy from injurytherefrom.

The embodiment of FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 differs from the embodiment of FIGS.1 to 4 in the form of the plug member. The plug member of thisembodiment comprises a disc 22 having a downwardly extending andtapering frusto-conical flange 23. The handle 24 is attached to thebottom of the disc 22 with a constricted neck portion 25 as thebreak-off or fracture point.

The embodiment of FIG. 8 differs from the previously describedembodiment in providing a plug member 26 of a solid material with arecess 27 at the bottom, similar to that of the first embodiment, and ahandle 28 with a similar constructed neck portion 29 adjacent therecess.

The plug member of each of the embodiments is preferably formed of anysuitable conventional plastic material, such as polyethylene,polystyrene, etc. but may be of any other suitable liquid imperviousmaterial that will not contaminate food and which is otherwise safe touse in contact with food.

The modification of the first embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 9, 10, 11and 12 comprises essentially reduction in length of the vertical fins17.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

The combination of a frusto-conical container and an end closure member,said container having a smaller opening at one end and a larger openingat the other end, said member comprising a one-piece plastic plug havinga relatively larger imperforate disc at one end and a relatively smallerimperforate disc at the other end,

said discs being disposed in planes spaced from and parallel to eachother, integral means securing the discs tcgether, said means beingdisposed between the discs and being inwardly offset from theperipheries of the discs, the diameter of the smaller disc beingsubstantially equal to the diameter of the said smaller opening and thedi-- beyond the container a substantial distance, said" larger 7 discbeing in continuous peripheral engagement with'the container and saidsmaller disc being disposed in and filling said smaller opening.

Valentine 21548 Murphy. 7 Legge 20656 Barricini.

Schlumbohrn 22042 Oclassen'et al. 206*56 Lynn [2,06-56 Lockhart 206-56Anderson 2065 6 THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

EARLE I. DRUMlvlOI ID,,Examiner.

